The charity sector for children and young people with mental health problems is “small and under-resourced” relative to the scale of the problem and, despite charities filling gaps in statutory provision, 40% of those with a mental disorder do not get any treatment, according to a report by New Philanthropy Capital (NPC).

What does the recession mean for the government’s plan to forge a new settlement on long-term care and support? At first sight, it suddenly doesn’t seem a terribly good time to be discussing the limits of state help for our rapidly ageing population and the need for things such as compulsory care insurance. But this is one agenda that can’t be parked until the economic sun shines again and the politicians fancy climbing back up to that leaking roof with a hammer and nails.

Benefit claimants will face lie detector tests and will lose benefits for a month if found guilty of fiddling the system under proposals unveiled by Gordon Brown on the eve of today’s Queen’s speech.

The “one strike and you’re out” proposal is contained in a tough summary of the speech released yesterday by the Cabinet Office. The government is also proposing to give the public clearer information, mainly via the internet, on how criminals are sentenced in local courts. Communities are to be given a bigger role in deciding what form of community punishment local criminals should be forced to undertake.